ROMNEY RELUCTANTLY CONCEDES

In conceding defeat last night Mitt Romney held his nose uttered the bare minimum the occasion required:

“I wish all of them well, but particularly the president, the first lady, and their daughters. This is a time of great challenges for America, and I pray that the president will be successful in guiding our nation.”

He immediately moved on to praise Ryan, his wife, (“she would have made a wonderful first lady”), his campaign staff and volunteers, as was to be expected.  After a few platitudes about reaching across the aisle, putting “people before politics” (read: “make more concessions to Republicans”) and faith in America, he concluded with:

“I so wish that I had been able to fulfill your hopes to lead the country in a different direction, but the nation chose another leader, and so Ann and I join with you to earnestly pray for him and for this great nation.”

So Romney’s concession speech amounted to a statement of regret that America didn’t choose him, without the customary urging for Americans to “unite behind our president” coupled with an offer to personally support the president for the common good. Instead  he offered only a prayer for the president and the country — read:  “Americans have made a terrible mistake, God help us.”